The apex court has also indicated the interest payment for delay by the builder will not attract tax liability, giving a major relief to the homebuyersSanu Sandilya | ETRealty | May 08, 2017, 15:43 IST

NEW DELHI : The Supreme Court on Monday ordered the interest payment of Rs 15.6 crore to the the 39 homebuyers of Unitech's Vistas project in Gurugram on a pro-rata basis.

The apex court has also indicated the interest payment for delay by the builder will not attract tax liability, giving a major relief to the homebuyers, according to advocate Pawanshree Agrawal, who represents the aggrieved buyers.

"The court said the term 'interest' in the order has only been used for the purpose of computing the compensation," said Agrawal.

"It thus indicated that no tax deductible at source (TDS) will be deducted on the interest amount as it is being treated as compensation," he added.

The next date of hearing in the case is scheduled for the second week of August.

The apex court had directed Unitech on February 20 to pay interest at 14% per year on the investments made by 39 home buyers of the delayed project in Sector 70, Gurugram. The interest is payable from January 1, 2010. The company has already complied with an order to deposit the principal amount of Rs 16.55 crore with the court's registery, which has already been disbursed to the home buyers.

The Supreme Court last month had warned Unitech of attaching its property if the company fails to deposit the interest amount by May 8. Unitech on Monday finally deposited the interest amount of Rs 15.6 crore.

The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission had imposed a 12% penalty on Unitech in June 2015 for delaying the delivery of flats in the project. The builder moved the Supreme Court against the commission’s order in August 2015. Launched in mid-2009, the Vistas project was to be delivered in December 2012.

The Supreme Court, in another case last week, directed the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) to dispose of cases related to 120 homebuyers of Unitech Vistas and 111 buyers of Unitech Residences projects within eight weeks.

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